What does δεῦτε (deûte) mean in the Bible?
Deute is a summons: come, come here, come now. It is small, direct, and relational.
Greek · G1205
δεῦτε
Come hither!
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δεῦτε G1205
Pronunciation deûte
What does δεῦτε (deûte) mean in the Bible?
Deute is a summons: come, come here, come now. It is small, direct, and relational.
Reader summary
Full entry for δεῦτε (G1205) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1205?
The BSB source-word alignment has 12 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Come (10), Come, follow (2).
Where does δεῦτε (deûte) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 4:19. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (6), Mark (3), John (2), Revelation (1).
Are there verse guides for δεῦτε (deûte)?
This entry includes 2 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
Deute is a summons: come, come here, come now. It is small, direct, and relational. In the Gospels it can call fishermen after Jesus, weary people to rest, invited guests to a feast, the blessed to inherit the kingdom, witnesses to inspect the empty tomb, and disciples to eat with the risen Lord. Because the word is an imperative or summons, it should not be treated as a vague invitation floating free from the speaker.
The force depends on who says it and where it leads. Jesus' come creates discipleship, rest, resurrection witness, fellowship, and kingdom welcome. Human speakers can also use the same summons for evil plans, so teachers must keep the call tied to its source and destination.
How the Bible Uses It
Deute marks a direct summons to come, often carrying the weight of the speaker's authority and the destination offered. The selected witnesses move from discipleship and rest to resurrection witness, kingdom welcome, and fellowship with the risen Lord.
- Matt.4.19
“Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
Jesus summons fishermen to follow Him, and the call carries a new vocation under His authority.
- Matt.11.28
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Jesus calls the weary and burdened to Himself for rest. The summons is personal, gracious, and Christ-centered.
- Matt.22.4
Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
The parable's servants announce that the feast is ready and the invited should come. The word carries prepared hospitality and accountable response.
- Matt.25.34
Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
The King calls the blessed to inherit the prepared kingdom. The summons now sounds with final eschatological welcome.
- Matt.28.6
He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay.
The angel invites the women to come and see where Jesus lay. The word serves resurrection witness rather than curiosity.
- John.21.12
“Come, have breakfast,” Jesus said to them. None of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You?” They knew it was the Lord.
The risen Jesus tells the disciples to come and have breakfast. The summons restores fellowship and confirms His living presence.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It Come 10× Matthew 11:28, Matthew 21:38, Matthew 22:4, Matthew 25:34
Come, follow 2× Matthew 4:19, Mark 1:17
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 4:19 Δεῦτε to Come, follow Verb - Imperative - 2nd Person Plural Matthew 11:28 Δεῦτε to Come Verb - Imperative - 2nd Person Plural Matthew 21:38 δεῦτε to Come Verb - Imperative - 2nd Person Plural Matthew 22:4 δεῦτε to Come Verb - Imperative - 2nd Person Plural Matthew 25:34 Δεῦτε to Come Verb - Imperative - 2nd Person Plural Matthew 28:6 δεῦτε to Come Verb - Imperative - 2nd Person Plural Mark 1:17 Δεῦτε to Come, follow Verb - Imperative - 2nd Person Plural Mark 6:31 Δεῦτε to Come Verb - Imperative - 2nd Person Plural Mark 12:7 δεῦτε to Come Verb - Imperative - 2nd Person Plural John 4:29 Δεῦτε to Come Verb - Imperative - 2nd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 4:19
Aligned rows 12
Books represented 4
Matthew 6 Mark 3 John 2 Revelation 1
Source forms
Δεῦτε 8x Deute Matthew 4:19, Matthew 11:28, Matthew 25:34, Mark 1:17
δεῦτε 4x deute Matthew 21:38, Matthew 22:4, Matthew 28:6, Mark 12:7
Parsing patterns
Verb - Imperative - 2nd Person Plural 12x Matthew 4:19, Matthew 11:28, Matthew 21:38, Matthew 22:4
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Name the speaker and destination before applying the call. A summons to Christ differs from every other come in Scripture.
- Keep invitation and authority together. Jesus' come is gracious, but it is not casual or optional advice.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that deute always signals gracious invitation; the word can also appear in harmful human plans.
- Do not claim that Matthew 11:28 promises rest apart from coming to Jesus and learning under His yoke.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Matthew 4:19 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
Δεῦτε Deute come hither! The imperative gives the call its direct force. Read verse guide Matthew 28:6 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
δεῦτε, deute come hither! The imperative directs the women from announcement to inspection of the empty place. Read verse guide Evidence Summary
Greek word. Imperative call to immediate action or movement, often introducing urgent invitations or commands to follow.
Source Gloss
come hither!
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Imperative call to immediate action or movement, often introducing urgent invitations or commands to follow.
adv., as pl. of δεῦρο, 1. (b), which see, [in LXX chiefly for לְכוּ ;] come on! come here! come!: with imperat., Mat.25:34 28:6, Jhn.4:29 21:12, Rev.19:17; with subjc., Mat.21:38, Mrk.12:7; before ὀπίσω, Mat.4:19, Mrk.1:17; πρός, Mat.11:28; εἰς, Mat.22:4, Mrk.6:31.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
13 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
deute
come hither, come, hither
Read verse Matthew 11:28 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
δεῦτε deute
come hither, come, hither
Read verse Matthew 21:38 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
δεῦτε, deute
come hither, come, hither
Read verse Matthew 22:4 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
δεῦτε deute
come hither, come, hither
Read verse Matthew 25:34 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
Δεῦτε, deute
come hither, come, hither
Read verse deute
come hither, come, hither
Read verse Mark 1:17 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
Δεῦτε deute
come hither, come, hither
Read verse Mark 6:31 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
Δεῦτε deute
come hither, come, hither
Read verse Mark 12:7 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
δεῦτε, deute
come hither, come, hither
Read verse Luke 20:14 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
δεῦτε, deute
come hither, come, hither
Read verse John 4:29 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
Δεῦτε, deute
come hither, come, hither
Read verse John 21:12 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
Δεῦτε deute
come hither, come, hither
Read verse Revelation 19:17 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
Δεῦτε deute
come hither, come, hither
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 1 case and number pattern. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 1 Aligned forms 12
Matt 4:19 · Matt 11:28 · Matt 21:38 · Matt 22:4 · Matt 25:34 · Matt 28:6 · Mark 1:17 · Mark 6:31 · Mark 12:7 · John 4:29 · John 21:12 · Rev 19:17 12×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 12 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 12
Voice
active 12
Mood
imperative 12
NT Occurrences
Matthew 4:19 Δεῦτε present active imperative imperative Matthew 11:28 Δεῦτε present active imperative imperative Matthew 21:38 δεῦτε present active imperative imperative Matthew 22:4 δεῦτε present active imperative imperative Matthew 25:34 Δεῦτε present active imperative imperative Matthew 28:6 δεῦτε present active imperative imperative Mark 1:17 Δεῦτε present active imperative imperative Mark 6:31 Δεῦτε present active imperative imperative Mark 12:7 δεῦτε present active imperative imperative John 4:29 Δεῦτε present active imperative imperative John 21:12 Δεῦτε present active imperative imperative Revelation 19:17 Δεῦτε present active imperative imperative
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Mark 1:16–20 Δεῦτε deûte
Come!
Showing 1 selected witness from 12 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
δεῦτε is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Deute is the language of movement toward a voice. In the mouth of Jesus, that movement can reorder a fisherman's future, give rest to the burdened, bring witnesses to resurrection evidence, welcome disciples to a meal, and finally call the blessed into the prepared kingdom. The word does not create those realities by itself. The speaker and scene do. That is why the same come language can appear in parables of invitation and even in wicked human speech elsewhere.
Teachers should therefore make the summons concrete: come to whom, for what, and under whose authority? In the Gospel scenes, the safest answer is also the most searching one: come to Christ.
Anchor passage
Matt.11.28
Doctrinal connections
- G190 Akoloutheo, to follow: Matthew 4:19 shows that the summons to come often becomes the summons to discipleship.
- G2872 Kopiao, to labor or grow weary: Matthew 11:28 gives the call its gracious rest for burdened sinners.
- G932 Basileia, kingdom: Matthew 25:34 places come language at the final welcome into the Father's prepared kingdom.
- G1453 Egeiro, to raise: Matthew 28:6 ties come and see to resurrection witness, not merely religious interest.
- G5315 Phago, to eat: John 21:12 shows the risen Lord calling disciples into restored table fellowship.
- Matthew 22:1-14: the prepared banquet frame warns that invitation carries accountability as well as generosity.
Deute functions as a summons rather than a descriptive verb. Its force is pragmatic and relational: a speaker calls hearers to move toward a person, place, action, or prepared reality.
From Old to New Testament
Scripture repeatedly uses come language for divine summons, covenant response, wisdom's invitation, and final worship. In the New Testament, deute gathers that summons around Jesus, who calls people not only to information, but to Himself, His rest, His mission, His resurrection, and His kingdom.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain